Nightwalker
by SailorCecelia
Summary: Sometimes escaping one problem, only creates another. Brynjolf/OC with a dash of Ulfric.
1. Hurricane

**Just as a warning, this story is rated M! If you're cool with that, then please enjoy! Oh, and the chapter title is from 30 Seconds to Mars, as I realize that hurricanes aren't likely to occur in Windhelm, but the lyrics fit the mood ;)**

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><p>Zarah stared into the clear blue eyes of Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm. His gaze was penetrating and intense. He masked his emotions well, Zarah couldn't even begin to tell what was going through his mind.<p>

Their staring match was growing long and rather intense, to the point that Galmar, second-in-command of the Stormcloaks, huffed and stomped out of the room, leaving the two alone. He had heard Zarah storm in, she was never quiet, blatantly loud Galmar often thought. She had snapped at the guard who had tried to inform her that the Jarl wasn't taking visitors at the moment.

He took his leave and the two stared a bit longer, Ulfric finally broke the silence with a soft whisper, "Zarah …" She could see his emotions begin to leak through his mask, worry, disbelief, a tinge of anger. "I thought…I had heard you'd been killed." He stated, his voice regaining its composure.

Zarah pouted, her own mask breaking, her bottom lip quivered for a moment before, "Killed? Have you no faith in me, Ulfric? I'll not be killed until I'm ready to." She said, defiantly, with an angry twist of her hand.

She had not wanted to come back to this place.

She had spent nearly a year in the service of leader of the Stormcloaks, fighting for the cause, as it were, as well as fighting for the future high king's approval, and winning it for the most part.

His compliments of her bravado and skill on the battlefield soon turned to compliments on her appearance and personality. His admiration of her armor and weaponry turned to admiration of the gleam of her hair and the curve of her hips. She had readily, and naively, accepted his affections.

Zarah was a wily Breton, with hair the color of dark sunshine and eyes the color of the sky before an impending storm. He often wondered what her past contained, she rarely spoke of it and gave no inclination as to whether it was good or bad. She didn't care who he was or what he had done and he found it oddly refreshing.

Ulfric ignored her smart remark on his faith in her survival; he took a step forward and cupped her face in his hand, wrapping his other arm around her waist.

Her resolve faltered as she allowed him to pull her to him. His familiar scent filled her nostrils as his arms wrapped around her small frame. She nestled her head against his chest, she frowned though, her fist balling up in the fabric of his robes. She wasn't sure if she was angry at him for luring her in to his traps, or if she was angry at herself for letting him.

He was so damn persuasive! He could make petting ravenous skeevers sound like a pleasant idea.

She let him tilt her head back. He ran his thumb along her jaw line. Her lip trembled slightly before he kissed her. Like all of his kisses, it was commanding and intense. Zarah felt her heart hammer in her chest.

One of his hands remained on the back of her head, as if he anticipated an angry response, the other explored her lower back. He kept her pressed tightly to him, in such a way that made the pit of her stomach burn.

He pulled back for a moment to look at her face, it was flushed, a light pink tinge painting her otherwise porcelain skin. He kept his firm hold on her, knowing it was only a matter of time before the clouds in her eyes vanished and he would be once again pierced with her intense gaze.

She came to this moment of clarity quicker than he thought she would and she quickly squirmed out of his grasp. Stomping a few feet away from him before whipping around and pinning him a glare.

"No." She said, stubbornly, of course, as was her way. She stomped her foot a bit and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll not let you make a fool of me again." Her mouth set in a stern line.

"Zarah," Ulfric started, taking a few steps forward, she mirrored him by taking a few steps back. "I never meant to hurt you." The future High King didn't plead, but if he did, this is what it would sound like, Ulfric was sure of it. "I-"

"You what?" she snapped. "Didn't expect me for another night or two? Was that it, _my dear Jarl_?" she mimicked the words of harlot that she had found in his bed. "Couldn't keep it in your pants for another day or two?" She stuck her nose in the air, knowing it was a low blow.

He took another step towards her, his hands out, she swatted them away from her. "I was.." He started again.

She cut him off again. "Intoxicated, yes I know, you reeked of it." The Jarl wasn't one for the drink, usually, and she didn't know what had gotten into him to have get as bad off as he was that night. "Let's just blame it on the sodding drink, because that makes it so much more bearable." She could feel her cheeks flushing darker.

Ulfric watched the color spread across her face. He knew she was angry, but she had been angry before, when he had 'messed up' before, as she called it. Usually a few charming words and well-placed touches had her melting in his hands again.

Zarah was as headstrong as they come, independent, and skilled to a fault on the battlefield. He knew he held a power over her though, he wasn't sure what he had that other men didn't when it came to seducing the clever Breton. He knew it wasn't his title or his gold for she had enough of both for all of Skyrim, she was Dragonborn, Thane of more than one hold, she was in good with the Companions as well as the Mages at the College. He honestly wouldn't be surprised to find out that she had ties to the Brotherhood or the Thieves Guild, though she never had mentioned either.

Ulfric took another step closer to her. She narrowed her eyes in warning, but he caught the slight tremble of her lip, the only give away she had. He smiled, a bit smugly, knowing it would only be a matter of moments before he would be carrying her to his bed, and only a few moments more before his _indiscretion_ with the maid would be forgotten as well.

Then she did something that caught him off guard, she sidestepped away from him, finality in her movements.

"No." She whispered, more to herself than to him. She walked to the door, turning to look at him before leaving. "I can't do this anymore. Goodbye, Ulfric." She said in a clear voice that reverberated off him, shocking him.

**Months Later**

Shor's Stone was a small settlement, but it was quite nice, of course, that was after she had cleared the mines of those foul spiders.

"Sada, there you are." Sylgja came around the corner of the house. "Would you like some dinner? You haven't eaten today."

Zarah had taken back her childhood name of Sada after she left Windhelm. Zarah Storm-Blade, as she was known around the majority of Skyrim, was now Sada Nightwalker. Zarah was a good name, it had been her mother's name, and it had served her well, but she wouldn't be that person anymore.

She didn't feel like the Dragonborn, war hero that Zarah Storm-Blade had become. So she had retook the name that she had been adorned with at birth, Sada. Soon the denizens of Shor's Stone had become accustomed to calling her the night walker, because she rarely came out during the day. It had a nice ring to it, so she tacked it on as her last name.

She had been staying with Filnjar and Sylgja. Filnjar had become a bit infatuated with Sada after she had cleared the mine of spiders. She let him down gently before giving him a nod in the direction of Sylgja, who she had noticed had been eyeing him with a look of adoration. The two had been married recently and were very happy. Obnoxiously so, in Sada's opinion.

Smiling softly at Sylgja, Sada turned down the offer of food and continued to warm herself by the forge fires.

It was time to move on, Shor's Stone was a quaint, quiet town, but she had her fill of the place. She had traveled clear across Skyrim to get out of the shadow of Ulfric, but as the Stormcloaks took more and more land for their own, she found it harder and harder to escape him.

She took comfort in the fact that her heart didn't ache at the very thought or mention of him anymore. It had taken some time and months of travel to reach this point, but she was quickly regaining her independent nature, she didn't need Ulfric to make her happy.

She hopped up from the edge of the forge, a glint of hope in her eyes and a bit of happiness in her step. Inside she quickly packed what few things she carried with her, she gave a quick, but heartfelt goodbye to Filnjar and Sylgja before she set out into the night.


	2. Let the Flames Begin

**Ah chapter two! **

Riften was a dark, edgy town that Sada had never liked. She owned a home there, of course she did, after stopping a Skooma circle the Jarl had been more than happy to allow her citizenship to the hold. Sada usually just used Honeyside as a storage unit for things she wasn't quite ready to part with, but she didn't want to carry around anymore. She had let Iona, the housecarl, go years ago, stating that if she needed her she would seek her out, Sada felt bad about leaving the bright, young girl in the dark home for so many months at a time.

She very nearly waved at Hofgrir, one of her favorite citizens, as she approached the main gates of the city, but she quickly reminded herself that she was keeping a low profile. It shouldn't be hard, there were only a handful of people who would recognize her, Mjoll, who was considered to be a good friend, despite her _nearly_ obnoxious ability to be helpful to _nearly_ every resident of The Rift. The denizens of the court would recognize her, but she didn't entertain the idea of visiting them during her time here.

The blacksmith, Balimund, and Marise Aravel would recognize her, as she had given them both some of her alchemical stores, they were two of the more honest business people of the city and Sada had been happy to help them. Lastly there was Maven Black-Briar, the two had frequent spats, especially when Sada made it blatantly obvious that she didn't care how much weight Maven's name carried.

Maybe it would be harder than she realized.

She wondered how long it would take the people of Riften to notice that their Thane was back in town.

Sada slipped past the guard and into the city, she made her way around the back of Haelga's Bunkhouse before letting herself into Honeyside. She lit the empty grate with a flick of her fingers.

The house was bare and she frowned at the dusty emptiness of it all. She climbed into the mostly unused bed and thought of maybe going to Whiterun. She wouldn't be able to keep low key, but at least her home was nicely furnished and the citizens friendly.

Morning dawned early for Sada. She stretched and stumbled out of bed. Walking over to the fire to keep herself warm, she frowned at the bare cupboard. Of course she didn't have any food.

She pulled a musty tunic from the trunk by her bed, it had been so long since she had worn something besides armor that she felt oddly exposed in the light clothing. She arranged her hair to be somewhat presentable, it was a tangled, dirty mess, but she wasn't too concerned with it.

Next she dabbed around her eyes with a bit of powdered charcoal, knowing that with that addition she would look more sinister and less like the Thane that she was here.

The Bee and Barb was fairly crowded for that time of day, but the weather was permitting and it seemed that everyone wanted to enjoy it a little. Sada sat in a darkened corner, picking at her breakfast. She watched the patrons mill around, chatting among themselves and enjoying their meals.

She noticed a pretty dark haired girl sweetly talking up a man that was much too old for her. Sada watched in amusement as he leaned towards her, lust clouding his eyes. The girl placed her hand on the man's leg, her eyes gleaming, but Sada figured that the gleam in her eyes wasn't lust.

Her suspicions were confirmed as the girl slid her hand up the man's thigh and deftly snatch his coin purse, she didn't falter and the man never noticed. He was quite confused, actually, when the girl quickly vacated her seat, a smug smile dancing around her lips.

Sada chuckled to herself as she dropped some coin on her table and sauntered out of the inn.

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><p>Brynjolf set up his potions as he watched people file into the market. The sunshine was bringing in people from the countryside, it was a going to be a good day.<p>

He noticed Sapphire clinging to the edges of the crowd, he nodded to her, she had a good natured smile on her face, informing him that she had made some coin already.

Sapphire had been a rare find, so many years ago. She was young, beautiful, and angry. She had never told him, or anyone as far as he knew, what her past held, but he knew it was dark and tumultuous and involved men. He could put two and two together well enough to fill in the blanks.

Brynjolf was a charmer, he knew how to use words to manipulate people to do and sometimes even feel what he wanted them to, but he had never employed his charms on Sapphire. She was too level headed to fall for him anyway, so instead, he talked her into joining the guild.

He scanned the crowd, he had a job today. One besides scamming people out of their hard earned gold. His job was twofold, however, foremost, he needed another set of hands, if that were his only objective, he would simply employ one of the more nimble handed thieves, but he was also looking for a new recruit, preferably one that wasn't daft.

There were many shifty looking people in the crowd. A shady boy who was much too skinny, a hardened woman that didn't blend in enough. But it was the light-footed girl clinging to the shadows that caught his attention. He watched her for a while, expecting her to make a move, but she never did, she simply moved from bench to bench and watched.

For a girl with such striking features she was doing a decent job at remaining unnoticed. She looked a mess, Brynjolf thought, but maybe that was her plan. He watched as she stood and strolled around the market, eyeing the merchants goods with an uninterested eye.

She was small, obviously a Breton, and lithe. Her dark blonde hair was unkempt, cropped a bit shorter than most, longer in the front than it was in the back, continually obscuring her face.

He waited for her to come his way. Standing next to his stall, he touched her arm as she passed by.

"What bringsw you to Riften, Lass?" he asked, shooting her a charming smile.

She didn't miss a beat and replied instantly, "The quality of its citizens." A small tug at the corner of her mouth gave away her otherwise completely serious answer.

Brynjolf stopped himself from giving a loud laugh, but instead offered her a wide smile, causing her face to break into a grin too. Quick witted and easy to smile, he liked her already.

"Why do you ask?" She inquired.

"Well, I noticed that your pockets are lacking in coin, I thought I'd make you an offer. One that would maybe line them a bit." He offered.

She quirked an eyebrow at him, "What concern is my wealth to you, sir?" she asked, the light tone never leaving her voice, a smile still playing around her mouth.

"Lass, everyone's wealth is my concern. What do you say? Interested?" He pinned her with his eyes.

"I assume that this offer won't be, exactly, legal?" she tilted her head a bit, seemingly mulling it over.

Brynjolf didn't answer, only smiled charmingly at her.

"What did you have in mind, then?" she asked, as if he were taking her out for a date instead of proposing an illegal rendezvous, her eyes mischievous.

He was intrigued by her, he'd admit. He explained the venture. Steal the ring from Madesi's strongbox, plant the ring on Brand-Shei.

"Done." She told him, simply. Before walking away and making herself scarce.

_That was easy,_ Brynjolf thought to himself as he readied his stall for his 'show.' The girl was either desperate…or, well, he couldn't put his finger on it, but she was eager and that's what mattered.

He called everyone to gather round, most did, quite eager to hear his speech, with only a bit of dark muttering from Brand-Shei himself.

His eyes scanned the area while he delivered his speech. He kept an eye out for the girl and only he noticed her briefly near the vicinity of Brand-Shei's stand, but aside from that he didn't see her again until he turned to address the crowd behind him.

She was there, casually leaning against the wall, listening in rapt attention.

Brynjolf wrapped up his speech, a grin spreading over his features as he took gold and handed out 'miracle' cures. Once he was done, he turned to find her perched on the stack of barrels on the side of the stall. She was swinging her feet, watching him, the mischief still present in her features, a smile on her lips.

"Well, lass, that went well." He mirrored her smile, her eyes glittered.

"That was the most fun I've had in a while." She commented.

"I was hoping you would say that."

"Were you now?" she asked, coyly.

He couldn't help but give her a roguish smile. "I was and I'd like to employ your services. My organization makes its home in the Ratways under the city, if you're interested, why don't you pay us a visit, if you make it to us in one piece, we'll talk. If you're not interested, well, it's been a pleasure working with you."

Brynjolf dropped a coin bag into her hand, gave her a charming smile and swiftly exited the market, just as Brand-Shei was proclaiming his innocence, all the way to the prisons. His job was done here.


	3. You Only Live Once

**Sorry for the delay! The title for this one is from The Strokes! Enjoy!**

Sada couldn't help but smile as she went in the back way of her house, the streets were still too full to be coming and going without getting noticed. Avoiding Mjoll and Maven in town that afternoon had been tiring.

But not avoiding that charming man with the devious eyes had been, as she told him, fun. She almost couldn't contain her happiness as she crept away from Brand-Shei's pocket, completely unnoticed. She felt as sly as a fox.

Now, for the decision of the night: to go to the Ragged Flagon or not? She had done some inconspicuous asking around that day and had learned that it was the headquarters of the Thieves Guild. She knew that handsome Nord was up to no good the moment she saw him.

Everyone she had talked to informed her that no upstanding member of society went to the Ragged Flagon, that respectable folk enjoyed their mead from the Bee and Barb.

She mulled this thought over in her head as she strapped on her lightest armor, just in case. The citizens made a crucial mistake when they told her that information. She was tired of being an upstanding member of society, tired of being respectable and the responsibility of those titles. She hurriedly threw some things in her pack, swiftly exited the house, locked the door and didn't look back. She planned on spending quite a bit of time in the Ratways.

Sada hesitated at the door, the mercenaries and crazed lunatics were short work for her, she only sustained a fairly shallow cut on her forearm. She was worried though, what if the charming man had changed his mind. Obviously the plan had worked; they had pulled it off without a hitch. No backing out now, she frowned and pushed the door open quietly.

She crept towards the bar on the other side of the room, passing a large man with a surly look on his face. He nodded at her as she passed.

The group of patrons were engrossed in a rather boisterous conversation. It took a moment for Sada to realize that they were talking about her.

The handsome man from the market was detailing her attributes while a small bald man shook his head grinning. Sada noticed him to be a Breton. A hardlined, but beautiful, blonde Nord woman was spouting off something sarcastic just as Sada decided to emerge from the shadows.

The group fell silent.

"Lass!" the devious eyed made exclaimed, "Well, color me impressed, I wasn't sure you'd make it!" he grinned, causing Sada to break out in a grin as well.

"You ain't much, are ya?" the bald man asked, eyeing her slight frame. She gave him a reproaching look.

"Aye, let her alone, Del." The handsome man clapped him on the shoulder, "Sit down, Lass, I'll buy you a drink."

Sada hesitantly sat down as he waved over the barkeep. He pushed a tankard of mead towards her.

"Have any trouble getting here?" The blonde woman asked, a smirk gracing her lips.

Sada looked at her, trying to figure out the aim of her question. "Wasn't too hard."

The man laughed heartily, "Headstrong to boot! You're quite the prize, Lass!" she took a drink of her mean to hide the grin spreading over her face, his compliment warming her insides. "Come now, tell us what we should call you." He inquired.

She hesitated a moment, Zarah very nearly fell from her lips. "Sada." She smiled, finally, "Sada Nightwalker."

"That ain't your real name, is it, girl?" the bald Breton asked.

"Surprisingly, it is." She smiled at him.

"Well, then, Sada, very glad to meet your acquaintance. I'm Brynjolf, and these are Delvin and Vex." Brynjolf introduced.

Delvin grinned cheekily at her while Vex gave her a tight lipped acknowledgement.

"So who's the leader of this humble group?" Sada asked.

"That'd be ol' Mercer." Delvin answered.

"He's a darling, you'll just love him." Vex said seriously, but Sada could see the sarcasm behind her eyes.

"Now, now, don't scare her off just yet." Brynjolf reprimanded good naturedly. "Alright, Lass, I have one more job for you, if you can get it done, then we'll go talk to Mercer about officially letting you into the Guild."

Sada listened to what Brynjolf wanted her to do. It sounded easy enough, persuasion was one of her better techniques, of course, two of her marks were female, which may mean that she wouldn't be able to use her womanly charms on them, then again, maybe she could, one could never tell these days.

"Don't be killing them, Lassie." Brynjolf warned, smirking, "I can see those devious eyes." Sada grinned at him.

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><p>Getting the money from the shop keepers was more than too easy. She charmed it off of Bersi Honeyhand, all she had to do was bat her lashes and pout her lips. Haelga was much more fun, Sada has used the woman's statue of Dibella against her along with some threats that had the bunkhouse owner sputtering apologies as she handed the coin over.<p>

By the time Sada had gotten to Keerava, the raspy Argonian was more than eager to give her the money. She smiled smugly at this, the innkeeper had scammed her out of a bit of gold the first time she had visited Riften and Sada was happy for the revenge.

The sun was out and warm on her skin so she ate her lunch down at the docks, letting her toes skim the water. She decided that it was time to return to the Ratways and inform Brynjolf of her accomplishments.

As she entered the Flagon, she noticed a very stern man talking to Brynjolf, everyone else seemed to be trying rather hard to not listen, they were very obvious. She clung to the shadows until he stormed off through a tunnel at the back of the bar.

Sada emerged once the buzz of conversation took over the members of the Guild. She quietly sat down at the table Brynjolf was occupying in the dark corner, his brow was furrowed in thought.

"Lass," He greeted, looking up at her, a warm smile gracing his features, "How's it going? Any headway on that job?" His question was as conversational as it was inquiring.

She grinned at him, her eyes bright as she set three heavy bags on the table in front of him.

"Well, well, I'm impressed." He paused a moment, "You didn't kill them did you?" his tone turned serious.

Sada laughed, "No, Brynjolf, I didn't kill them. Do I really come across as the ruthlessly murdering type?"

He could help but grin back at her, "Honestly, no, but it's the quiet, pretty ones you have to keep your eye on."

She felt her cheeks burn a bit and was thankful for the lack of light surrounding them. "It wasn't too hard, honestly. A little of intimidation for Haelga. I could have charmed the pants off of Bersi, and by the time I got to Keerava she was more than willing to comply."

"Bersi doesn't seem like your type." Brynjolf commented after chuckling a bit.

"You don't know my type." She told him, grinning.

"Aye, that's true, maybe someday you can give me a demonstration on how one charms the pants of off people." He gave her a devious smile.

She tossed her head back and laughed, "Sure, sure, I'll see if I can fit you into my busy schedule of removing trousers."

"Did I hear talk of disrobing?" Delvin suddenly appeared at their table, a grin on his face.

Sada leaned forward as he took a seat, she place her hand warmly on his arm and batted her eyelashes. "Maybe we were, Delvin, what say you?" she asked in a velvety voice. If it hadn't been for the mischievous glint in her eye, even Brynjolf, the master of charms, would have fallen for it.

"Sadie, you shouldn't take pleasure in getting an old man's hopes up." Delvin gave her a wicked smile.

She laughed, removing her hand. "Please, you're not that old." She rolled her eyes.

After finishing the job for Brynjolf, Sada had met Mercer Frey, the Guild Master. She honestly didn't have anything nice to say about the man.

He had regarded her coldly, and with a bit of contempt, she thought.

"At least she's small, Thrynn and Rune couldn't be discreet if they tried." He mentioned a job at a place called Goldenglow. He didn't give her any details, before walking off.

Sada watched him go back to his desk and bend over the ledger. "So, am I in?" she turned to Brynjolf and scrunched her face up in confusion.

"Aye, Lass. Mercer isn't the talking type." Brynjolf scratched the back of his head, then he grinned at the girl in front of him, eyeing her carefully. "Come now, let's get you some armor and I'll fill you in on the details."

She skipped along behind him as he rattled off what the job entailed. Currently they were waiting on Niruin to return from scouting the place. Sada listened to the man's melodic voice as he rummaged around some trunks in a store room near the Cistern. The flickering light in the room threw his profile into relief and she couldn't help but appreciate the planes of his face.

He held up a jacket and muttered something, "This is the smallest I could find, try it on, we can always adjust it if it's still too big." He tossed her the leather armor.

She quickly pulled it on as Brynjolf returned to sorting through the trunks.

"Fits like a glove." She grinned, standing in front of him.

"That it does." Brynjolf glanced away from her, trying not to notice the way it hugged her body and clung to her form. In trying to distract himself, he noticed the blade that she had strapped to her hip. "That's an interesting weapon." He commented.

She touched the hilt of the strange dagger. "Mm, yes, it is. I'm quite partial to it, honestly."

"I've never seen one like it," He moved closer to examine it, genuinely curious now.

"I got it from the Brotherhood." She commented off-handedly. Immediately she recognized her mistake when Brynjolf tensed up and cast her a wary glance. "No, no!" She grasped his arms, eyes wide. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"What's the story, Lass?" He asked, still uncertain, but not moving away from her hold.

"Simple really, I had a run in with the Brotherhood, they thought I stole a contract from them and they wanted repayment." She rushed through the explanation, her eyes never leaving Brynjolf's. "So, their leader, Astrid, locked me in a shack with three people and told me I wasn't allowed to leave until someone in the room died."

She paused to catch her breath, her eyes were wide, the torchlight reflecting in them, "But I couldn't do it! I couldn't kill them, I didn't know why they were there or what they had done, and that poor man kept pleading and I couldn't do it!" Brynjolf was rather taken aback by her passion. "It made me so angry...so angry, so I just whipped around and slashed her throat."

Her grip on him lightened until her hands dropped to her sides. Brynjolf caught them, they were trembling, he noticed. "What did you do next, Lass?" he asked, less curious about the blade now and more concerned with how she wasn't being hunted down by the Brotherhood at that very moment.

She bit at her lips for a moment before replying, making her look young and almost too innocent. "I wandered into Morthal, my head was still a bit fuzzy from the excitement of it all, I kept her blade clutched to me for proof, even though no one would be able to know yet. I talked to a nice guard in the city and he told me to go see Commander Maro."

"Those military types are useless when it comes to these types of things." Brynjolf commented, scowling a bit.

"Yes, I know." She muttered softly. "He told me to clear out the sanctuary. So I did."

"By yourself?" He asked, surprise and astonishment coloring his voice.

She nodded, her normally smiling face frowning a bit. "I have a scar, just here." She freed one of her hands from his and lifted up the top part of her armor. There was a bit of puckered skin just above her hip. "Throwing knife."

"What possessed you to go in there by yourself, Lass?" Brynjolf asked as she resituated the hem of her armor.

She shrugged, pulling a smile back onto her face, "I don't know, whimsy?"

Her lighthearted answer told him that she was done with sharing stories from her past. He reluctantly smiled back at her. "Come on, Lass, let's get you a drink." He flung an arm around her shoulders and they strolled towards the Flagon.


	4. What You Know

**Thanks to everyone who has favorited this story! I love checking my email and seeing all those alerts :D The title for this one is from Two Door Cinema Club!**

It took two days for Niruin to return with the information they needed. He noted the number of mercenaries guarding the estate as well as the times for their rotation. He hadn't seen Aringoth or any others on the island.

Sada's time in the Ratways was well spent, however, getting to know her fellow Guild members. She spent a good chunk of time perched on the barrels in the training room watching the archers practice their technique, Cynric even giving her a few lessons (which ended rather quickly after an unaware Vipir the Fleet almost took an arrow to the shoulder).

She loved listening to their stories and the men of the group seemed happy to regale her with their misadventures in the thieving world. Even Sapphire was warming up to her and the two spent some happy stories over drinks in the Flagon.

She ran a few extra jobs for Vex and Delvin as well, pulling in a pretty sum of coin as well as other riches in the way of weaponry and jewels. Brynjolf gave her an approving look as she set a rather ornate goblet down in front of Vex.

"Nice," Vex commented, handing her purse of coin.

Brynjolf pulled her aside after their discussion, "Niruin's returned." Was all he said before she hurried to the Cistern to meet the only member of the Guild that she hadn't done so already.

The Bosmer was rather handsome, she had to admit, her childhood and adolescent years in High Rock had made her rather partial to any of the elven races.

"Nice to finally meet you." She greeted him enthusiastically.

"You as well, Breton." He smiled at her. "You're quite cheery to be a thief." He commented.

She laughed, "Ah, well, I quite enjoy it down here." She replied honestly.

Niruin sat with her and gave all the information he had, which admittedly wasn't much. He frowned. "It's going to be a tough job to pull off." He warned. "At least you're small and unnoticeable." Were the only words of encouragement that he offered.

With that Sada went to her trunk and sorted through the things she may need. A few daggers and throwing knives and a couple of healing potions. She was dabbing charcoal around her eyes when Brynjolf approached.

"Just coming to wish you luck, Lass." He seemed nervous, shifting his weight from side to side.

She put the dark powder down and stood up to face him. "You're worried about me." She stated in a teasing tone, grinning at him.

If Brynjolf were the blushing type he would have done so at that point. He wasn't, however, and merely smiled at her. "Lass, it's a tough job, you're a good girl, I don't want to see you get hurt." He explained. "Not to mention a fair thief with vast potential."

Sada frowned, tuning out the last half of his comment and only focusing on the first bit. She wasn't a girl. She had seen and done more than half the men twice her age. The Dragonborn wasn't a mere girl. She blanched at the thought.

Shrugging her shoulders, she finally replied. "I'll be fine." She turned from Brynjolf and picked her bag up. "See you in a bit, Brynjolf."

She started walking away when he caught her arm, gently. "_Please_ be careful, Lass."

Sada seen in his eyes that he was legitimately worried for her and instantly she felt bad for turning cold on him, "I will be." She replied softly, with a smile.

Brynjolf paced around the Cistern, Sada should have been back already. He had seen the flames go up with his own eyes.

The Cistern was mostly empty; Mercer had disappeared earlier, citing that he had some business to attend to. Delvin, Vex, and a few of the others were getting drinks in the Flagon. He was thinking about joining them, just to ease his worry.

He hated that he worried over the girl like he did. She was so good natured and bright, surely she wasn't suited to be a thief, surely she could make a better life for herself elsewhere. Even as he thought it, he knew he didn't want her to be _anywhere_ else. The Cistern was a brighter place with her around. Everyone had been more active and happy since her first appearance that night in the Flagon. Even Vex and Sapphire were happy with her presence.

He was about to head into the tavern when he heard the secret entrance grate open. He waited but no one ever showed. He went to the ladder and looked up just as the covering slid open.

"Sadie?" He called up, her small face appeared in the dim light. "Are you alright, Lass?" She didn't reply, but nearly fell face first down the drop. "You stay there, I'll come get you." Brynjolf told her, noticing that she wasn't quite right.

"Nonsense, I'm a big girl, Brynjolf." She muttered. He could barely make her words out.

She started to climb down, but slipped on the first rung. Brynjolf caught her deftly in his arms, she let out a soft gasp at the sudden impact. "Put me down, I'm fine." She struggled against him until he set her gently on her feet.

Her face paled when he did so. "You're hurt, Sadie." He commented, grabbing her arms to hold her up.

"I'm fine!" she insisted, trying to shake him off. He gave her a pointed look before glancing at the jagged shaft of an arrow sticking from her shoulder, it looked as if she had already tried to pull the arrow out, the skin around it was inflamed and swollen. There was a fair amount of blood dripping from it.

"Let's get you bandaged up." Brynjolf scooped her up in his arms, minding the wound.

Sada buried her head against his chest. "I almost made it. I was so close." She mumbled, her voice muffled by his shirt. She breathed in sharply as he sat her down on a bed.

"We're going to have to take you armor off, you're wearing something underneath it, aren't you?" he asked as he started undoing the buckles, she nodded, her face pulled in pain.

He went to find Thrynn, who was best at the surgical things in the Guild. He always said it was because bandits couldn't afford Healers and potions and had to make due on their own.

"This is going to hurt, Sadie." Thrynn told her gently as he assessed the damage.

Brynjolf sat on the bed in front of her and pulled her to him. Thrynn held the gash open as gently as he could. Pain coursed through her whole body and she gripped Brynjolf's hand tightly.

She buried her head in his shirt as Thrynn eased the bit of arrow from her skin. Brynjolf held her tightly, stroking her hair.

Finally Thrynn finished up, he cleaned around the wound and gently placed a bandage over it before giving her a potion to drink. "Thanks so much, Thrynn." She told him, gratefully as the pain subsided. "Wouldn't have been so bad if that tip hadn't gotten stuck." She mused.

Thrynn laughed, "Well, you're good as new now…despite a bit of stiffness, that is. Glad to see you made it back, Sadie."

Sada leaned back against the headboard of the bed, letting the excitement of the night die off. She realized that she was still holding Brynjolf's hand and quickly snatched it away. The sudden movement caught him off guard.

"What's wrong, Lass?" He asked, his eyes worried.

"Nothing, Brynjolf." She muttered. "Here's what I found at Goldenglow." She pulled some papers out of her discarded armor and sat them on the bed next to her.

He didn't press her, she would talk when she was ready, he was sure, she always did. Instead, he went about gathering up rags and fresh water to help her clean off the rest of the blood.

"Let's get you cleaned up." He suggested, he could tell she was about to protest, but sighed as she tested out her arm, it would still be a couple of hours before the potion would take full effect and it was still rather difficult to move, so she nodded and let him ease her shirt over her head.

He made a point of being professional and distant, trying not to make her feel uncomfortable. To his surprise however, she couldn't seem any more unconcerned, she was completely nonplussed about her state of undress.

"I've gotten a lot of injuries." She told him once he asked about it. She motioned to the scars that ghosted over her skin. Brynjolf noted a few that looked like previous arrow wounds, there were some other slashes and some that looked like claw marks. Most looked like they had been healed very well, leaving only pale trails where there had once been deep wounds.

There was one, in particular, that started at her right shoulder and ran diagonally down the length of her back. It wasn't as neatly healed as her other ones, the skin was still tinged pink around the edges. He traced his fingers across it.

"What of this one?" he asked softly, noticing her tense under his touch.

It took her a moment to reply, "Oh, unfortunate run in with a dragon, not a big deal." There was a touch of smile on her face and he couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or not.

Brynjolf shifted so that he was facing her better, he took her hand in his, "I'm glad you made it back, Sadie." He told her, his voice soft and eyes earnest.

She looked away from him, but a small smile played around her lips. "Don't make me blush, Bryn." She said, her normally playful tone finally falling back into place.

"It's true!" He defended himself.

He cupped her cheek in his hand, gently rubbing his thumb over her cheek. A tinge of pink spread across her face as she turned her gaze to him.

The moment grew intense and Brynjolf noticed her lip tremble just slightly before she pulled it in between her teeth, shifting her eyes away from him.

"Let's go get some drinks with the others." Byrnjolf suggested, softy, lowering his hand.

She nodded and went to pull a more presentable tunic from her trunk. She used her fingers to brush the messy braid out of her hair, letting it fall freely around her shoulders as she followed Brynjolf into the tavern.

**Part two coming soon! (it may or may not get a little racy /devious smile, just so you know)**


End file.
